The Hitchhiker
by Ardent Aspen
Summary: Just a little one-shot, explanation of its origins is inside. Stop me if you've heard the one about the driver and the woman in white... Update, 09/30/2013: Actually no longer a one-shot. If I can think of any more classic urban legends to mess with, I'll let you know.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello, fiction friends!**

**In one of the more recent chapters I uploaded to another story, I mentioned holo-forms. Maybe I'm just crazy, but I started thinking about what it would be like if you met a holoform, and THAT led to me thinking about urban legends/scary stories. I ****_swear_****there was a connection in my brain. **

**Well, without further ado, let the madness begin.**

_Stop me if you've heard this one._

A man is driving home from a party late one Friday night when he sees something strange. Standing on the side of a lonely road is a young woman dressed in white, hitch-hiking. Curious, the man stops and asks her where she needs to go. She answers, "I just want to go home," and gives him the directions to her house. He offers to take her and she gets into the car. Several times, the man tries to engage her in conversation, but she remains quiet and sad.

_Sound familiar yet?_

Once he's off the highway, he turns to ask her where to go next, but there is no one in the backseat. The woman has vanished completely, and he is alone in his car. Shaken, the man drives to the address the girl had given him and knocks on the door. A boy answers, and when the man describes his mysterious hitchhiker, the boy asks, "Was she wearing white, on the side of Highway 78?" When the man answers yes, the boy shows him a picture. "That's her!" says the man. "That's my sister, Sadie," is the reply, "She died in an accident three years ago on her way home from the prom."

_Bet you know what's coming._

As the frightened man is leaving, he crosses the same highway as before and sees the woman again, still standing on the side of the road. Terrified, he speeds away just as she fades into nothingness.

As the projection disappears, Arcee straightens up from behind the bushes. "You were right, Smokescreen. This _is_ fun!"

**Halfway tempted to ruin more urban legends this way. I feel like that meme of the History Channel guy who always explains things by saying "Aliens!"**


	2. Chapter 2

**Salutations! Two of you asked me to update (I was frankly startled that anyone had reviewed at all...it ****_is_**** a pretty weird story...) Well, I decided to go back for round two. This one is a little less silly than the last chapter, but it's still an urban legend.**

_You know how it goes._

Sierra left her friend's house late that night, somewhere around 10:00. She was a little worried that her parents would be upset if she didn't make it back by curfew, but she realized that she was going to have to stop for gasoline. "Great," she muttered, and pulled into a dingy station. You know the kind, the counters are filmy, the food is questionable, the only lightbulb flickers frequently and the bathroom is for emergency-use _only_. Sierra didn't want to be there any longer than necessary, so she slapped a ten-dollar bill down on the slimy counter and was out the door almost before getting her receipt.

As she walked out to her car, shoulders hunched and arms crossed over her stomach, she caught movement out of the corner of her eye. A blue semi truck had just pulled into the station, to the pump right behind her car. "That's odd," she thought, "That pump doesn't sell diesel." A cold, uncomfortable feeling began to build in the pit of her stomach, and she quickened her pace. "Young lady!" someone called, "Stop!" It was the truck driver, waving his arm frantically. "I need to talk to you!" Sierra made a break for her car and in a frenzy had jumped inside, slammed the door, and started the engine before even buckling her seatbelt.

_Tut, tut. That sounds familiar, doesn't it?_

Sierra pulled out of the gas station a good five miles over the speed limit, hoping to put some distance between her and the disconcerting trucker. As she made her way down the dark and lonely Jasper highway, suddenly her rearview mirror lit up with a bright flash. Someone was using their highbeams behind her! "Rude!" she thought, nervous and irritated. As soon as the highbeams turned off, Sierra looked up at the mirror to see who the offender was. Her mouth went dry and her hands tightened on the steering wheel. _It was the same blue semi!_ "Ohhh...nononononono," Sierra whispered. Every horror movie she had ever seen chose that very moment to parade through her mind.

She passed a road sign and her hands relaxed ever so slightly. Two miles to go. Suddenly, the semi flashed its highbeams again. Sierra's heart leapt into her mouth and she began counting the distance left out loud. Twice more, the semi's lights flooded her car until at last she came to her own street. "No, no NO!" she squeaked in dismay. Neither one of her parents were home! Then she remembered: they were at a friend's birthday party and wouldn't be back until the next morning. Sierra didn't even put on the emergency brake. She snatched the key from the ignition and dove out of the car, slamming the door with her foot.

_Very distressing, indeed. We all know how this will end, don't we?_

Gasping for air and nearly sobbing in panic, Sierra fumbled with the key as the blue semi rumbled up into the driveway behind her. At the last moment before it stopped, the door opened and she ran inside, shoving the door closed and leaning against it, she slid to the floor trembling. All was quiet for a moment, and then there was a sound of metal shifting and gears grinding. A massive shadow fell across the front hall, blocking out the light of the street lamp. The girl squeezed her eyes shut. They opened involuntarily when she heard the frightened shout of a man. Cast on the wall before her was the shadow of a man with a knife, dangling from a huge clawed hand. Sierra realized in horror that the man had been _in her backseat_!

Ultra Magnus glared down at the masked man. "Pick on someone your own size!" he growled.

**Et voila, there's round two. Let me know if it was any good, I don't know if I'll continue it or not.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Well, of all my stories, this is the only one that I feel inspired to update right now. (I'm in an extroardinarily mischievous mood today, and my other tales are mostly serious.)**

**Here's another classic campfire tale/urban legend.**

* * *

**Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you, a door.**

"**You unlock this door with the key of imagination. Beyond it is another dimension— a dimension of sound, a dimension of sight, a dimension of mind. You're moving into a land of both shadow and substance, of things and ideas. You've just crossed over into the ****Aspen****Zone."**

**(Insert Twilight Zone theme here)**

* * *

_**You're about to meet your average young girl: Sierra Cody, sixteen years old, a student at Memorial High School.**_

"Vince, we missed the exit. I think you're music's on too loud." "Huh?" The red-haired boy cups a hand to his ear and pretends he can't understand the girl in the seat next to him. "I can't hear you!" Sierra scowls and crosses her arms. "Why did I ever agree to this?" she mutters, turning to look out the window.

_**.Recently the witness of a disturbing event, Miss Cody is now afraid of her own car. She takes the bus to school in the mornings, but the afternoons are somewhat trickier. Today, Sierra has finally given in and is allowing local hotshot Vince to drive her home. Little does she know, they've just taken a detour through the Aspen Zone...**_

Vince winks at Sierra, hoping he looks roguish and daring. "No worries, babe. Just taking the scenic route! I'll have you home in time for dinner." Sierra makes a private vow to herself that she will never, ever do this again. "Did you seriously just call me _babe_?" she growls, turning to send a green-eyed glare at the driver. Thankfully, the braggart is actually focused on the road more than his pretty passenger. "Aw, lighten up, Sierra!" Vince laughs, "It was just a joke."

Sierra pulls her knees up to her chest and tucks her chin down. Vince looks over at her and frowns, concerned. "Sierra, you okay? I won't call you babe again if you don't want me to: promise." The young woman mutters a "thanks", and tightens her grip around her knees. "No seriously," Vince asks, "What's wrong? Darby isn't bugging you, is he? I'd totally beat him up for you, y'know." Miss Cody frowns at this. "You'd totally beat him up anyway, Vince. You're kind of a jerk, and I'm only riding with you because my car isn't...safe." Vince shrugs and returns his attention to the road. He's not worried: he plans to have her wrapped around his little finger by the next hour.

The black and orange muscle car turns down the road that Vince and Jack had once raced on, near the mesas. In the sideview mirror, Sierra catches sight of a light blue semi behind them and her heartbeat accelerates. "Vince, speed up!" she whispers. "Sorry, what?" Vince glances at her out of the corner of his eye. The girl pastes a smile on her pale face and cocks her head at him. "You're not going to let a _semi_ pass us, are you?" Vince revs the engine in response, and the car roars ahead. They whip past a large collection of mesas, raising the dust, and begin to head back to town as the sun sets.

Suddenly, the hot rod begins to slow down. "Ah, come _on_," Vince mutters, (convincingly, he hopes), and pushes the pedals harder. "Vince, it's getting dark," Sierra says, suddenly suspicious. She's a smart girl, she can tell that Vince is stepping on the brake pedal, not the gas pedal. "I swear, I don't know what's wrong with this thing, Sierra," Vince tries to look earnest. He shifts the car into park and gets out. "Here, you can listen to the radio or something, I'm gonna check the engine." Sierra lets out a "hmph!" and puts her hiking boots up on the dashboard the instant the door closes.

Idly flicking on the radio, she happens to catch a news report regarding a wanted man on the run from the law, armed and possibly deranged...and in their area of the country. Sierra gulps and remembers the man who had been in the backseat of her car so recently. While she sits inside, Vince has been pretending to fix something in the engine. A price worth paying for a chance to woo Sierra Cody, he thinks. Suddenly, the object of his affections is frantically tapping on the window. "Hey, what's up?" he asks, sliding into the driver's seat. "Listen to the news," she answers grimly. _Be advised, ex-colonel Leland Bishop is mentally unstable and of a violent nature. He was last seen heading for the Jasper area, and may be carrying a hunting knife or a boat hook as a weapon._

It is now completely dark out, and Vince is beginning to think his plan was a bad one. "Vince, I wanna go home!" Sierra demands, "We should've been there hours ago anyway!" Then they hear a strange, metallic, scraping noise. It comes closer, and closer. "Go!" Sierra screams, clutching her bookbag to her chest. Vince steps on the gas and the car lurches and fishtails to the side, as if caught on something. At last, they break free and tear out of the desert, back towards civilization. Shaken, he drops Sierra off at her house. As he's about to pull away from the curb, the girl shrieks and points to the car door.

Hanging from the handle is a huge metal hook.

_Back at the airforce base, Wheeljack hisses in sympathy, looking at his commander's hand. "Ouch, Chief! How'd you manage to lose a finger?" The stoic soldier grits his teeth and mutters, "That kid's going to get herself killed one of these days!"_

_**You have witnessed Sierra Cody, age sixteen: afraid of snakes, the dark, and now automobiles and madmen. Justified? You be the judge. Things are always more than meets the eye in...the Aspen Zone.**_


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay, can I just say that I had a ridiculous amount of fun parodying the Twilight Zone in the last chapter? I used to watch that show on the retro channel while doing laundry. (Oh the joys of independence(?)..) so I can picture the narrator when I read that. This time, however, I'm going to give poor Sierra and Magnus a break. **

**This is yet another oft-told tale of horror (and given that its found its way here, I use "horror" loosely) After some scheming with SuperGirlinJeans, and a great many giggles of sheer mischief, I have finally decided how to tell this one.**

* * *

_Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you, a door._

"_You unlock this door with the key of imagination. Beyond it is another dimension— a dimension of sound, a dimension of sight, a dimension of mind. You're moving into a land of both shadow and substance, of things and ideas. You've just crossed over into the __Aspen__Zone."_

_(Insert Twilight Zone theme here)_

* * *

_I present for your consideration: a portrait of exasperation. Miko Nakadai is a young lady who knows what she wants and does as she pleases. She doesn't always think before she acts. This can get her into trouble. _

The paint is literally everywhere. Between the drenched teacher and the embarrassed students, it's hard to tell who is more red. "Ms. Nakadai!" the teacher howls, "Do you have any idea how expensive that lab kit was?" Miko grins, wiping a fleck of paint off of her cheek. "Nope!" she says cheerfully. "It was $330.68, plus tax. _And it belonged to the school!_" Mr. Archer is trying very hard not to hyperventilate at the thought of paying for the damage. "Aw, scrap, Teach! I didn't mean for it to happen," Miko tries to explain, "Jack was supposed to catch it, see?"

Jack raises his hands as if to say, _Don't bring me into this!_ But he doesn't deny her claims. "We're really sorry, Mr. Archer," he says, "I'll clean it up." Mr. Archer sighs. "Thank you, Mr. Darby, but I'm afraid it's beyond repair. I'll just have to buy a new kit myself." The highschoolers wince. It's no secret that Mr. Archer's family is hard up for cash, and with April 15 drawing near, this could seriously affect the affable educator. Impulsively, Miko makes a snap decision. "We'll pay for it, Teach." she declares. Jack is startled, but quickly agrees. "I can pull a late shift tonight at K.O. Burger!" he offers. "And I'll...I'll find some way to earn the money," Miko promises. Mr. Archer looks almost ready to faint with relief.

_A kind-hearted deed to make up for an irresponsible one. Ms. Nakadai finds herself accepting a babysitting job for a wealthy family on the city limits. As the green army vehicle pulls up to the driveway, she passes an invisible, intangible barrier. She has just crossed over into the Aspen Zone._

The parents are a little worried at first: Miko seems like such a sweet young lady, after all, and their daughter is so very rambunctious. They clearly haven't met Miko. When the four-year-old girl comes running in with a dump truck in one hand and a tea cup in the other, she stares up at her new babysitter and her eyes widen. "Your hair is _pink_!" she squeals. A match made in heaven. Reassured, the parents leave behind their cell phone numbers in case of emergency, and leave for a night on the town. Miko asks the little girl what she wants to do first, and is somewhat surprised to hear the answer.

Dressed in pink with ribbons in her hair, this little one wants to play with her father's vintage G.I Joes . Miko finds herself dragged into a world where the Joes defend the world from space aliens, but the aliens defeat them all so they can have a tea party with Miko and her young charge, Evie. After several similarly unusual games, Evie has completely won Miko's heart. Later that night, Miko tucks Evie into bed and tells her a (somewhat heavily edited) version of Bulkhead's battle with Breakdown. The child is charmed, and demands that Miko come back another day with the "dolls" from her story.

Soon, Evie is fast asleep and Miko goes downstairs to watch television. After a while, the phone rings. So that the ringing won't wake the little girl upstairs, Miko answers it. There is a second of silence, followed by a throaty voice asking, "Have you checked the children?" "What the- who is this?" Miko demands, irritated. The caller hangs up. "Hmph! "Check the children" my foot," Miko grumbles, "There's only one kid here!" All the same, she turns on the baby monitor that Evie's overprotective parents still use. The preschooler is fast asleep, _out_ of her bed and next to a tower of blocks she has evidently just made. Miko smiles and turns off the monitor. Nothing she hadn't done at the same age, she supposes.

She is partway through a classic Godzilla movie when the phone rings again. Groaning, she picks up the phone. It is the same throaty voice as before, whispering, "Have you checked the children?" "Get a life!" Miko snaps, and hangs up. She doesn't bother to turn on the baby monitor. It's only a prank call, after all. Shaking her head at the obnoxiousness of some people, Miko returns to the movie. The night wears on and the house settles in the warm spring air. The creaks and groans of the walls and ceiling are unnerving, but Miko has faced worse.

She gets up to get some water, and maybe check the fridge for sodas, when the phone rings again. "I swear," she mutters as she grabs the phone, "If it's the prank guy again, I'm going to pull his vocal cords out _through_ the phone!" There is a noticeable five seconds of silence following this announcement before the threatening voice asks, mockingly, "Have you checked the children?" "That does it!" Miko growls. She looks at the caller id and texts the number to Raf with the message, "Track this." Then, she hears a crash from upstairs. She grabs for the baby monitor, but the screen shows an empty room.

Miko begins to worry a little. Suddenly, a rusty, creaking groan echoes from the pantry. Miko shrieks and whips the door open to reveal a very old dumbwaiter. Inside is little Evie, looking worried and a little annoyed. "Hey, kiddo, what are you doing out of bed?" Miko scolds, relieved. "I couldn't sleep," says the child, "The man in the hall was scaring me." Miko's blood runs cold. Man? What man? Her cell phone vibrates, revealing the reply text message from Raf. "What are you playing at, Miko? The call is coming from inside the house." Miko's eyes widen and she hoists the little girl up onto her hip. "Evie, where is the man now?" she asks seriously. Evie stares at her babysitter with round grey eyes. "I don't know."

Miko places a quick emergency call to her guardian, telling him to come wait by the curb. "Evie," she says sternly, "When a green army Jeep gets here, I want you to run outside as fast as you can. The door will be unlocked, just climb inside and stay there until I come and get you, alright?" The nervous child nods, burying her face in Miko's shoulder. The ceiling creaks, but this time they don't mistake it for the house settling. There is someone upstairs, waiting.

Bulkhead arrives in a matter of minutes, and is surprised to see a tiny girl clad in a camouflage nightgown run out to him from the open front door. She knocks on the side door, barely able to reach, and Bulkhead's holomatter form pulls her up. "Where's Miko?" he asks. Evie is trembling, and merely points to the house. She clutches her teddy bear to her chest. "I think the man got her!" she whispers. Unable to transform and rescue his charge, Bulhead is forced to call for backup over his radio. Agent Fowler and several grim-faced agents arrive in a helicopter twenty minutes later: there has been no sign of Miko or the man.

"Phil, take the kid," Fowler orders, "The rest of you, come with me!" Armed and ready, they charge into the house, prepared for the worst.

Terror. Sheer, unadulterated terror. Sweat beads on the your brow, running down the spine. _Why did I think I could do this?_ The little girl is safe, but you are not. You crouch in the closet, hands clamped over your mouth to stifle the sobs. You dare not move, you dare not breathe. The predator waits, and will hear your tears. Outside, the heavy footfalls have not ceased their pacing pattern. "Marcooo, Maaaarcooooo," the falsely gentle voice croons. You shut your eyes tightly and pray for mercy. "Maaaarcoooooo?" Through the crack in the door, you can see the shadow of a dripping axe and its deranged wielder. The light disappears, and you look up to see a wild eye looking down at you. "_You're supposed to say Polo!" _Miko hisses, a Cheshire grin lighting her face.

_The collected agents are quickly alerted to their quarry's locations by the terrified screams of the man in the closet. He is removed before the girl can do any permanent damage to him, but even after he is released from the hospital to the prison, he suffers debilitating nightmares of a girl with pink hair and an axe. A girl who doesn't always think before she acts. Believe it if you will, things are more than meets the eye...in the Aspen Zone._

* * *

**One last author's note: In most versions of this story, the child doesn't survive. I could never write such an end, particularly not for Evie. You see, Evie is based on a little child I actually knew: a princess in pink whose favorite game was "Tea Party with R2D2 and the Abominable Snowman". If she had grown up, she probably would have been just like Miko. Here's to you, Evie. I hope they have R2D2 tea-parties in heaven.**

**Second author's note: in the original version of this chapter that I discussed with SuperGirlinJeans, Knockout was the babysitter, Starscream was the kid, and Miko was the threatening caller. **


	5. Chapter 5

**And back to the madness we go! This one actually isn't based on an Urban Legend, but rather was inspired by a short story I heard narrated on YouTube once. It felt like a thoroughly Twilight Zone thing, so here we go:**

* * *

_Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you, a door._

"_You unlock this door with the key of imagination. Beyond it is another dimension— a dimension of sound, a dimension of sight, a dimension of mind. You're moving into a land of both shadow and substance, of things and ideas. You've just crossed over into the __Aspen__Zone."_

_(Insert Twilight Zone theme here)_

* * *

_The K.O. Burger: one of the only fast-food joints in little Jasper, Nevada, and current place of employment for one Jackson Darby, age 16. An unfortunate mishap at school leaves Mr. Darby working the late shift to pay for the damage. _

**Arcee's inbox: 1 new message. 5:00 pm**

The boss was actually really nice about it when I told him what had happened. "Sure, Jack," he said, "Why don't you take Carly's shift tonight? I'm thinking of changing her hours anyway." I could understand why. There was something just a little unnerving about Carly Cuthbert, but I could never quite put my finger on it. When she looked at you, her eyes seemed vacant...like the lights were on, but nobody was home upstairs, if you know what I mean. The boss went home for the evening, leaving me with the inside counter. Now, normally I work at the drive-through, but I wasn't complaining. When you come _inside_ to order, you can't leave without paying!

_A harmless enough job anywhere else, but on this particular night, Jack Darby was about to be payed a visit from the Aspen Zone._

**Update: 5:30**, a scruffy-looking man shuffled in and sat down at the counter. "Can I help you?" I asked. He blinked his pale blue eyes, as vacant as Carly's and put a five-dollar-bill on the counter. "Son, can you break this?" he asked. I didn't see why not, so I opened the cash register and exchanged the bill for five ones. He thanked me hoarsely, and ordered a cup of coffee. K.O. Burger's coffee is nasty, let me just say, so I was a little surprised. I gave his what he wanted and put the payment in the register, and he shuffled out. The diner area was pretty empty for a while after that, except for a young family that came in and sat in the corner. They looked at the menu, then they left.

**Update: 6:30, **Arcee, you're not going to believe this. At exactly one hour past the last time, the same scruffy guy from before came in and sat in the same seat at the counter. I figured maybe he'd forgotten something, so I went over and asked if I could help him. Just like last time, he blinked at me with those empty eyes and put a five-dollar-bill on the counter. "Son, can you break this?" he asked again. I thought this was a little weird, but he was a customer, so I didn't say so. I split the five into ones again and he ordered a cup of coffee, just like before. I don't know, maybe someone splurged and got the really good coffee mix for once. But as soon as he left, the young family from before came in again as well. Just like before, they looked at the menu, then left.

**Update: 7:30, **Arcee, he's back. I checked, he's not even a minute late compared to last time. He comes in, he asks me to break the five-dollar-bill, he orders coffee, then he leaves. As soon as he leaves, that young family comes in, looks at the menu, and leaves. It's got to be near the kids' bedtimes, so I don't suppose they'll be coming back in. If I didn't know any better, I'd say Vince had a hand in this.

**Update: 8:30, **Ok, now I'm starting to freak out a little bit. The scruffy guy and the young family came in again and did the exact same thing. What's going on here? Arcee, will you ask Ratchet to run a scan over the area tomorrow?

**Update: 9:30, **Ok, now I'm starting to freak out a little bit. The scruffy guy and the young family came in again and did the exact same thing. What's going on here? Arcee, will you ask Ratchet to run a scan over the area tomorrow?

**Update: 10:30, **Ok, now I'm starting to freak out a little bit. The scruffy guy and the young family came in again and did the exact same thing. What's going on here? Arcee, will you ask Ratchet to run a scan over the area tomorrow?

**Update: 11:00, **I just looked at my phone. I honestly don't know what's going on anymore, but I want to go home. I don't care if there's no one else here to cover the shift, can you just come get me? I want to be back on the base right now. During the three hours where I repeated the same updates, I have no idea what was happening. I just know that right about 10:50, I realized that I was standing at the front door with a cleaning rag and I don't remember how I got there.

That's not the scariest part: outside, there was no traffic. I don't mean that the streets were empty, I mean no one was moving. The cars, motorcycles, pedestrians, _all frozen_. I even saw a bat just hanging in the air over a tree. Somebody had a radio on, but it wasn't playing anything but static. At 11:00 everything started moving again.

The scruffy guy and the young family haven't come back in, I'm locking up. I can actually see the guy across the street, heading for the bank. Please, _please_ come and get me!

_Consider Jack Darby: employee of K. and completely content with the afternoon drive-through shift. The boss is somewhat confused the next day to discover that Carly Cuthbert is the only one willing to work the night shift. Jack spends the rest of the next day on the road with Arcee to relax. He decides to earn the rest of the money he needs by running a car wash. Not that that doesn't present its own problems, of course, after all: things are more than meets the eye in...the Aspen Zone._


	6. Chapter 6

**I liiiiiive! I meant to update this story days ago, but life arose, ensued, and overcame. Oh well. This wonderful little scheme was concocted via brainstorm with SuperGirlinJeans. It is an outright parody of a somewhat well-known Twilight Zone episode and I am not the least bit ashamed of myself.**

**I'd better go ahead and make some disclaimers though, just to be on the safe side. Transformers ]belong to Hasbro, and I'm pretty sure that the Twilight Zone is property of someone named Rod Serling. Ok, bases covered? Right then, off we go!**

* * *

_Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you, a door._

"_You unlock this door with the key of imagination. Beyond it is another dimension— a dimension of sound, a dimension of sight, a dimension of mind. You're moving into a land of both shadow and substance, of things and ideas. You've just crossed over into the __Aspen__Zone."_

_(Insert Twilight Zone theme here)_

* * *

_The Nemesis: a giant floating Decepticon warship, late fall. The air is crisp, even through the filtered vents of the vessel. A self-contained world of discipline and no-nonsense attitudes and, at the moment, celebration._

Vehicons and Eradicons wander aimlessly in the halls. Since the destruction of Autobot Base Omega, their master Megatron had been in an unusually good mood. He had actually declared that the soldiers would have several days off, where they could do whatever they liked! (Mayhem upon humans was encouraged).

_At the sound of the roar and the flash of light, it will be precisely 8:08 pm on the Nemesis._

At this moment, ST3V3, an Eradicon, looks up in consternation as a ball of light courses through the conduits overhead with a piercing shriek. Various other Decepticons stop what they are doing and stare at the ceiling, even after the light has vanished. Knockout looks up from where he has been buffing his finish and shakes his fist. "Hey! What gives? You bolts-for-brains broke my concentration!" Starscream, who is also in the corridor, snorts and rolls his optics. "I suppose it was a power surge of some kind." "Awful close to the way it looked that one time when the ship came alive," Knockout remarks. "Too close," a Vehicon agrees. Topics of previous conversations are forgotten and all optics are on the cable that so recently distinguished itself.

_The Nemesis. 8:09 pm. The Nemesis in one last calm, reflective moment. The last, before...the monsters came!_

Starscream goes to a wall comm to relay the situation to Shockwave. He thoroughly intends to act as though it is the scientist's fault. He frowns. "Hello? Hello! Don't pretend you can't hear me, you incompetent wretch! That is the fakest static I have ever heard!" He is interrupted by a shout of dismay from the ship's medic. "Oh come on!" Knockout says in disbelief, "My buffer just died! That can't be right, this thing is brand new!" Whispers run up and down the hall as others announce their own problems. "My comm won't work either!"

"Not just the wall comms, my internal comms are jammed too!"

"Hey, none of the doors will open!"

"Power must be off in this junction."

One Eradicon, simply known as K3V1N, makes the decision to find out what's going on. Promising to be back as soon as possible, he stumbles along in the dark to see if any of the other halls have power. "K3V1N, you'd better not!" ST3V3 warns suddenly, although he is too late. Knockout and Starscream glance at each other, then turn to the grunt. "Why?" they ask. "Because, _they_ don't want us to leave," is the answer. "Who?" asks Knockout in confusion. The Eradicon's tone is light, but there is an underlying tension to his words. "The ones who made that ball of light go overhead. The _Gremlins_! I've heard humans talking about them. They're dangerous!" Others chuckle behind their servos. Well, ST3V3 always was a little strange, but this takes the cube. Their comrade continues to speak, and warns them that in the stories he has heard, these "gremlins" can take over the minds of anyone they please, and force them to act as spies among their own people.

Uneasy murmurs echo in the dark. Suddenly, the door next to a Vehicon numbered 23_S9 begins to open and close rapidly. The other soldiers shuffle away from him. "Wait a minute," Starscream hisses, "23_S9, how did you do that?" The mech in question raises his hands in defense. "I don't know what happened, I swear it!" Another soldier points at him and shouts, "He spends long hours on the runway, and he's not even a flyer! Maybe he's talking to the Gremlins!" Poor 23_S9 backs up, completely confused. "What? No! I just like looking at the stars!" "_Sure_ you do," Knockout sneers, examining his servos. Angrily, 23_S9 turns on the medic. "Well what about you?" he demands. "What about me?" Knockout is surprised.

The accused presses his attack. "You spend all that time in your lab talking to thin air! We've all heard it, don't deny that you do!" Knockout is outraged that a common Vehicon dares to question him so, but Starscream is as interested in the answer as anyone else. "Oh _sure_, I'm talking to the _Wee Folk_ in my laboratory!" the vain mech scoffs. It really is too bad that the common Decepticon has such a poor head for sarcasm. Hostility grows in the darkened hall, as mechs begin to turn on one another, each blaming the other for the power outage. Suddenly, a dark figure looms at the end of the hall. With a yelp, 23_S9 fires blindly, dropping the shape with a heavy clang. Knockout scurries over to check the fallen form and scrambles back with a panicked whoop. "You _idiot_!" he screeches, "_You shot Shockwave!"_ "Oh well. That's unfortunate," Starscream shrugs.

"Is your processor malfunctioning?!" Knockout shakes the Seeker roughly. "Lord Megatron will blame _us_ for this!" The other soliders pull their guns on 23_S9.

"Murderer!"

"You shot a fellow Decepticon!"

"What are you, an Autobot?!"

That the door and comm next to 23_S9 abruptly begin functioning again does not help his case. Shaking in his armor, he desperately points at ST3V3. "It was _his _fault!" he screams, "He's the one who started this talk of Gremlins!" ST3V3 gulps and backs away, just as lights begin to flash on and off all up and down the corridor, and the doors open and close rapidly. Screens turn on and off with shrieking static and the panic grows. A full-fledged riot starts, with walls being dented and mechs being shot. The once quiet hall has become a warzone.

Watching from a viewscreen on a ship orbiting the _Nemesis_, a human boy smirks triumphantly. "Pay up, Miko," he laughs. Rolling her eyes, the aforementioned girl slaps a five-dollar-bill into Rafael's hand. "Alright, alright. I admit it, sometimes the nerd way is best." The ship's pilot stares at them. "I do not understand. What did you do that made the Decepticons react like this?" Raf and Miko glance at each other, eyes sparkling with mischief. "Just shut off the power for a little while, turn a few things on and off, sit back and watch the pattern!" the boy declares. "And this...pattern always holds?" Ultra Magnus asks. The humans nod. "It hardly ever changes," Miko explains, "In a situation like that, they'll pick the most dangerous enemy they can find...and it's usually themselves. All we have to do is get a bowl of popcorn and watch the show!"

Ultra Magnus shifts uncomfortably. Why the missing Autobot leader saw fit to name this little creature a Wrecker, he would never know. The idea of being the commander over more creatures like this terrifies him slightly. "So...I take it that this experiment is not unique?" he asks slowly. Raf shakes his head and smiles ruefully. "Nope. Unfortunately, the world is full of _Nemesis_'s. Start a fight, and they'll destroy each other." Magnus shakes his helm in wonderment. "We should have done this eons ago," he mutters.

_**(The following is the actual ending narration from The Monsters are Due on Maple Street)**_

_The tools of conquest do not necessarily come with bombs and explosions and fallout. There are weapons that are simply thoughts, attitudes, prejudices—to be found only in the minds of men. For the record, prejudices can kill and suspicion can destroy. A thoughtless, frightened search for a scapegoat has a fallout all its own for the children . . .and the children yet unborn, (a pause) and the pity of it is . . . that these things cannot be confined to . . . The Twilight __**(Aspen)**__ Zone! _


End file.
